On 1/09/09, I hear you wrote:
> I don't teach in DC right now, but I did in the past. I see
> this ridiculous scenario in so many public school systems:
> new person comes in to mend all wounds, is given carte
> blanche to destroy what is there, then they get a better
> offer for more money elsewhere and bail on the system they
> were called in to fix.
>
> I really don't trust people who say they can solve all the
> problems of a school system when they only have three years
> or less in the classroom. Where are the miracles she
> produced in her classrooms? Why aren't they being
> replicated? Why isn't she teaching other teachers how to be
> as effective as she was?
>
> It's all about business, money and politics. Until these
> stupid Boards of Education stop buying into the notion that
> the root of all evil is the teachers and that the poor
> pitiful parents/children and top-heavy central offices have
> nothing to do with it, the problems will never be solved.
>
> She texts while someone is speaking to her, she walks out on
meetings, and her favorite tactic is to mock teachers she
doesn't like (about 95% of us) in a whiny, singsong voice.
She's a great role model for both teachers and students.
> On 1/05/09, Mike wrote:
>> I'm a NYC public school teacher who's been following your
>> chancellor Ms. Rhee (a product of our own tyrant, Joel
>> Klein) and I can't keep my outrage inside anymore.
> Apologies
>> in advance for the rant.
>>
>> Ms Rhee is the latest of the holier-than-thou "education
>> reformers" in the mold of our own Millionaire Klein.
> Elitest
>> intellectuals who decide to enter the school system on a
>> lark and try to fix all of its ills. A wonderful, noble
>> endeavor.
>>
>> Do they do this by tackling the greater social problems of
>> awful, neglectful parenting in low income areas? The
>> environments that so many under-performing students are
>> direct products of?
>>
>> Hahaha, of course not. That would be far too complicated
> and
>> way too unpopular. These low-income kids exist as props to
>> be used in the media's heart-warming tales. If the tale is
>> pleasing, it will be retold; those who challenge it get
>> typecast as evil union hacks, villians out of a Dickens'
> novel.
>>
>> Instead, these "education reformers" go about their holy
>> quest the easy, convenient way: by attacking teacher unions
>> and smearing teachers. Tenure!! That's the root of sociey's
>> problems! Teacher pensions and summers off, that's making
>> students not study!! Damn you, teacher unions! Big, bad,
>> teacher unions!! Who doesn't love attacking a faceless
>> entity that happens to have perks many Americans
> (especially
>> in bleak economic times) can only dream of.
>>
>> There. Doesn't that feel better than tackling the original
>> problem? Of course it does.
>>
>> The problem, as you likely know, is not the teachers. To
>> blame under-performing students on them is pure laziness,
>> and more than anything, it's that small-minded arrogance
>> expressed by people outside the system that does the most
> to
>> drive away qualified candidates.
>>
>> Holy crusaders like Klein and Rhee are a dime a
> dozen...they
>> saunter into teaching ready to change the world one kid at
> a
>> time, get overwhelmed or bored within 2-3 years, then head
>> off to more lucrative pastures having done their good deed.
>> Most have no intention of making teaching a career. It's a
>> hobby.
>>
>> Most teachers are in it for the long haul. They know they
>> won't get rich. They know they'll be forced to spend 20-30k
>> on a masters degree in order to keep their jobs. They know
>> they'll be kicked around often by students and
>> administrators alike. And now this...people like Klein and
>> Rhee and Bloomberg doing all they can to make life
>> unpleasant for teachers, for their own media image and long
>> term financial benefit.
>>
>> What can we do? Vote King Bloomberg out of office this
>> November. And if you're in DC? Vote against Rhee's awful
>> proposal.
>>
>> Fin.

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